Calorie restriction again in the eyes of science. Approaches involving reducing total daily food intake were explored by the research team in terms of brain protection, compared to the harmful changes that can arise with age. From a new study signed by experts from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, it was revealed that Eating 30% fewer calories than usual for more than 20 years can slow brain aging.
Age and the role of microglia in brain damage
Over time, the authors explain, central nervous system cells experience metabolic dysfunction and increased oxidative damage. These cellular problems risk disrupting the ability to maintain the myelin sheath (the protective layer that surrounds nerve fibers), thereby causing age-related white matter degradation. Microglia are the brain’s primary immune cells and their activation is a normal response to injury or infection. In conditions such as aging or Alzheimer’s, microglia can be chronically activated, causing dangerous inflammatory conditions that impact neuronshowever, the exact reasons for this process are not yet completely clear.
The study carried out by US researchers was carried out using an experimental model that is closely related to humans. “While calorie restriction is a well-established intervention that can slow biological aging and reduce age-related metabolic changes in short-term experimental models,” the study just published in ‘Aging Cell’ “provides rare long-term evidence that calorie restriction can also protect against brain aging in more complex species,” explains author Ana Vitantonio, a fifth-year PhD student in the Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics.
A study spanning more than 40 years
This research is based on research that began in the 1980s in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging involving 2 groups: one group followed a normal, balanced diet, while the other group consumed about 30% fewer calories. The initial goal was to determine whether reducing calorie intake could prolong lifespan. The participants lived their natural lives and their brains were analyzed after death. The researchers used a technique known as single-core RNA sequencingwhich allowed them to evaluate the molecular profile of individual brain cells. They compared the brain cells of those following a normal diet with those of people on a low-calorie diet, which allowed them to observe how reduced calorie intake affected gene expression and the activity of aging-related pathways in brain cells.
Result: “younger” cells with fewer calories
Brain cells that experience calorie restriction are metabolically healthier and more functionaldemonstrated increased expression of myelin-related genes and increased activity in key metabolic pathways important for myelin production and maintenance.
According to the authors, these findings support the idea that long-term dietary interventions can influence the trajectory of brain aging at the cellular level.
Implications for memory and learning
“This is important because these cellular changes can have relevant implications for cognition and learning,” said Tara L. Moore, Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology. “In other words, eating habits can influence brain health, and reducing calorie intake may slow some aspects of brain aging if implemented long term.”
